Brendan Smith is not a bad hockey player. In fact, he's a very good hockey player. Which begs the question: What the hell is going on with him?

Every time he touches the puck, I can actually feel Red Wings Nation holding its collective breath.

"There's no way he's gonna foul this one up. He's not actually gonna turn it over to that guy. No one could be that stupid/jumpy/drunk. Oh God, he turned it over to that guy. Oh God, they scored."

I'm not calling for his head. I'm not saying we should trade him. I'm not saying he won't get better. I'm just genuinely puzzled. The way he's playing right now (and this does, I feel, go back to last season, i.e. it's not something entirely new), he makes Adam Almquist look almost like a seasoned pro.

What is up with Brendan Smith?

"If I were to wish for anything, I should not wish for wealth and power, but for the passionate sense of the potential, for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints, possibility never. And what wine is so sparkling, what so fragrant, what so intoxicating, as possibility!" - Kierkegaard

He should smoke some grass before pre-game warmup. He's always so anxious every time he has the puck, refuses to make the easy play or bank it off the boards, always looking for the home run pass that gets picked off. He needs to relax, stop thinking so much and just play the game.

He should smoke some grass before pre-game warmup. He's always so anxious every time he has the puck, refuses to make the easy play or bank it off the boards, always looking for the home run pass that gets picked off. He needs to relax, stop thinking so much and just play the game.

With Quincey you have 2 d-men looking to create offense, neither of them is a stay at home guy.

That means they both have to be thinking too much in their own zone. They have to be aware that they may not be the only d-man looking to break out.

And with Dekeyser back there he could drop the puck off to the more composed player and settle the play down a bit.

He also needs to stop firing the puck through the middle of the zone so often, high of the glass is a better out, then straight up the gut.

"The more I know about people - the better I like my dog." - Mark Twain

"A wise man once told me, ‘Don’t argue with fools. Cause people from a distance can’t tell who is who'." Jay Z, Takeover

"When I was looking for a captain, I wanted a guy with the Red Wings crest tattooed on his chest," said former Detroit coach Jacques Demers, who named Yzerman captain in 1986. "Steve Yzerman was that guy."

“Told him if he wasn't ultra-competitive he couldn't come here. If he didn't bring it every day he couldn't come here, because he was going to hate it if he didn't, dislike the coach and dislike playing here.

“It's real straightforward. If you don't do it right, you're not happy here." Babcock

This also happened with Eriksson and Kindl, and will probably happen to DeKeyser as well. Smith isn't asked to be a quiet, keep-your-nose-clean and don't be noticed defensman like he was when he was first called up. He needs to be a difference maker, and that sometimes means sticking your neck out and taking risks to make a play. Smith is at the point in his development where he's still learning when to takes those risks and how. And yeah, like others have mentioned, its likely affecting his confidence when he tries for the breakaway pass and it gets picked for a goal in his own net. I still maintain that he will be an excellent player (especially offensively) in a couple years, once these experiences set in and he learns how to be an effective player.

He needs more poise for sure, you could see that last season. I haven't been able to see anything besides the almqvist goal in which smith just looked frazzled with the puck trying to do anything. Friday will be the first game I can catch if they air it.

I know the kid hasn't seen many NHL games but at this point I am skeptical. I don't expect a player to come into the NHL after 48 games and play like a seasoned vet by any means. I'm pretty conservative on making my judgements but he does turn the puck over at an alarming rate and so far this preseason he has shown no signs of improvement on that aspect from last season. He had a few games at end of playoffs where he seemed to minimize his mistakes to some extent but so far this year it looks like the same sad story. Rookies make mistakes and it can take a couple years to dial there game into a solid consistent level, but 80% of the time Smith touches the puck he makes a mistake. At this point I would say that there is a chance Smith might not make it. I really hope he does but there is a high chance hes not going to at this point. Especially with Quellet, Sproul, and Almquist looking to all that far away. You may even see Almquist or Lashoff over Smith if the Wings D are healthy on occasion this season.

I know the kid hasn't seen many NHL games but at this point I am skeptical. I don't expect a player to come into the NHL after 48 games and play like a seasoned vet by any means. I'm pretty conservative on making my judgements but he does turn the puck over at an alarming rate and so far this preseason he has shown no signs of improvement on that aspect from last season. He had a few games at end of playoffs where he seemed to minimize his mistakes to some extent but so far this year it looks like the same sad story. Rookies make mistakes and it can take a couple years to dial there game into a solid consistent level, but 80% of the time Smith touches the puck he makes a mistake. At this point I would say that there is a chance Smith might not make it. I really hope he does but there is a high chance hes not going to at this point. Especially with Quellet, Sproul, and Almquist looking to all that far away. You may even see Almquist or Lashoff over Smith if the Wings D are healthy on occasion this season.

You have to understand that it takes a lot longer for defensemen to develop. Look at Ericsson when he started and now. He'll be fine.

I'm not ready to give up on him yet. But the kid looks terrible so far in his NHL career. If he doesn't show some significant improvement by season's end, I think it'll be time to either send him back down to GR for awhile, or part ways completely.

He was getting middle pairing minutes in the playoffs last year, so Babcock must see something in him. Until he gets a full regular season under his belt, it's hard for me to have any idea what his ceiling is in terms of development.

Smith is learning to play the game. Most if not all young D struggle at the beginning of their careers. The NHL is a very different animal than minor/junior/college hockey. Even Nicky took a year or 2 to fully adjust to the NHL game.